WASHINGTON, June 12 – U.S. intelligence indicated that Israel has been making preparations to strike Iran, possibly targeting its nuclear facilities, media reported Thursday.
Multiple sources confirmed that U.S. officials were informed of Israel’s full preparation to launch a military operation in Iran, CBS News reported.
Israeli officials and White House spokespeople declined to comment, said CBS News. The security risk was said to be part of the reasons for the recently ordered departure of personnel from the Middle East by the United States.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved Wednesday the voluntary departure of U.S. military dependents from the Middle East. Non-essential U.S. embassy staff and their dependents have also been ordered to leave Iraq.
On the same day, Iran’s UN mission accused the United States of “enabling Israeli crimes” in an X post. “Threats of ‘overwhelming force’ won’t change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon and U.S. militarism only fuels instability,” it said.
“If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent’s casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach,” the Associated Press quoted Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh as saying on Wednesday. “We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation.”
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is expected to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi this weekend for a sixth round of nuclear talks. According to media reports, Iran recently threatened to strike U.S. bases in the region if negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program fail.
U.S. President Donald Trump told the “Pod Force One” podcast on Wednesday that he was growing less confident in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran.
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